Cara Piper, a 23 year old student from Derry, was hoping for an exotic escape and shelled out £129 on a Wowcher deal, dreaming of destinations as far-flung as New York.
The education undergrad at Queen Margaret University had been calling Edinburgh home for four years when the anticlimactic email from Wowcher landed in her inbox.
“I saw the Wowcher master holiday on social media and impulsively decided to do it for a cheap holiday,” Cara explained.
“I was honestly happy with anywhere as long as it wasn’t the UK. I opened it in Edinburgh because that’s where I’ve been living for the past four years.”, reports Belfast Live.
In a video capturing the moment of the reveal, Cara’s disappointment is palpable as she realises she’s splurged on a ‘holiday’ to her own uni town.
She shared: “Me and Ethan decided last night to book a Wowcher mystery holiday. It’s £129 each if we want to go during the summer months. We want to go in July I think and we’re redeeming it right now.
“The only problem is, we have to travel from Belfast. We’re limited on where we can go. We don’t think it’s going to be New York or anything like that. We’re happy with anywhere. I’m nervous.”, as reported by the Mirror.
Opening her Wowcher email, Cara couldn’t believe her eyes and told her friend on the phone: “No, no, no, no. We got Edinburgh. I’m in Edinburgh right now. We did not just pay £130 each to go where I go to uni for the past four years.
“For f*cks sake. We can ring up and change, I think. I literally live here. I actually can’t believe that.
“I was saying if we got somewhere in the UK I’d be fuming. I’m going to see if I can change it.”
The TikTok video of Cara’s debacle swiftly became a hit, racking up over 126,000 views as netizens watched in disbelief.
Reacting to the unexpected holiday revelation, Morgan McSherry said: “I’m not joking, as soon as you said Wowcher I was like ‘they’re either getting Belfast or Edinburgh'”.
Keisha Deane offered her sympathy, commenting: “This is heartbreaking.”
A fellow observer shared their feelings: “No, literally, out of everything I would be fuming. Bless you.”
Anna MacAuley laughingly pointed out the irony with her reaction: “I’m dying. What are the chances.”